Mumbai Crime: Kin alleges man died after friend brutally thrashed him

The accused allegedly beat up the friend on December 6. Representation pic

A 49-year-old resident of south Mumbai died after he was allegedly thrashed by a friend, his son and their servant over a property dispute. The MRA Marg police arrested the trio on Sunday under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code.

The arrested accused were identified as Noor Amin Rahman Shaikh, 57, his son Mohammed Ali Amin Shaikh, 26, and servant Aatik Yusuf Rehman, 33. According to the police, the family of the deceased has alleged that the victim, Hanif Rehman, died due to a severe beating by the accused. As per the family's statement, he was first admitted to the hospital and went through angioplasty, but died a few days later.

The complainant, a relative of Hanif, has alleged in his statement that there was a dispute between the accused and the deceased. The accused owns a hotel that the deceased ran on lease for many years, and was not ready to vacate. "The Malbar Residency hotel located in Fort was the cause of the dispute between the accused and the deceased, who were old friends," a police officer said.

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According to the police, accused Shaikh had given his hotel to his friend Hanif on lease, but when he (the accused) asked him to vacate, the deceased was not ready to do so. Instead he started asking for money. "The relations between both friends turned sour due to this, and on December 6, the accused, along with his son and a servant, entered the hotel, and after a heated argument, thrashed the deceased badly," another officer added.

The deceased was hospitalised at St. George Hospital, then shifted to Bombay Hospital as his condition turned even serious. The hospital found that he had 100 per cent blockages in his artery and asked him to undergo angioplasty, which was performed on December 16. He was discharged from the hospital on December 21. "Around 2-3 days later, he fell in his bathroom and died. The family has alleged that he died due to the assault, and hence a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder has been registered and three accused have been arrested," the officer added further.

The officers have found that the accused deleted the footage of the CCTV camera of the hotel to avoid arrest in the case. The officers seized the hard disk and sent it to the forensics lab to retrieve data.